Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

Comments

Well, you announced my first suggestion: take it in, and explain to the mech what you hear. If you can make it happen on a test drive, so much the better. (Personally, I have lousy luck with that one!)

It could be anything from a loose exhaust pipe hanger to misplaced insulation around your catalytic converter. Have you ever had any catalytic converter problems? The insulation is a bear to replace properly. :mad:

I have a 2005 Subaru Forester 2.5X. I feel that the air-conditioner on this car is very weak. I have taken it in to 2 dealers at various times. They changed parts, fixed leaks etc., but nothing seems to help. The last dealer finally said that it cools to about 52 deg. F in city driving, and about 49 deg F on the highway, and that is within specs. I find this to be insufficient in Georgia summers. My Nissan Sentra, with a much smaller engine cools much better.

Hey all, I'm a friend of user "fyredan" who you helped with a 93 Legacy Wagon and his overheating trouble. The wagon finally gave up the ghost and blew the head gasket. 3 days ago we bought another 93 Legacy sedan with the same EJ22 (2.2 liter) non-turbo engine. This car will start but idles rough and will not rev up unless you butterfly the gas pedal and then it will only go up to around 5k rpm. If you put it in gear, it wants to die and will not rev up at all. We've replaced the TPS, IAC, MAF, ECM, pcv valve, knock sensor, fuel pump, coil, plugs, and plug wires. We popped a couple of holes in the front catalytic convertor thinking it might be clogged. After replacing all the components it idles smoother but still will not rev up. The components came off the wagon and we weren't getting any codes before swapping them. Now we're getting codes for the TPS, IAC, MAF, and knock sensor. I'm thinking that this is electrical with either a possible loose connection or bad ground. Any help or ideas would be of great help at this point. Is there a common connection for all of these components or something that we might be overlooking? Thanks, Dean

P.S. The ingnition switch is acting up too. There's an electrical solenoid on the switch that isn't releasing the tumbler so you can roll the switch back to the locked position and remove the key. I can unplug the solenoid and lock the switch and remove the key with no problem. Could this be related to the electrical trouble we're having with the engine or something else entirely?

Does anyone happen to have a wiring schematic, diagram, or color code for the 93 Legacy? All we have at the moment is a Haynes manual that covers from 90 to 98 and the schematics in it are mostly for the later models and is very vague to say the least. If we could get our hands on one that is specific for this year model it would help out alot. Please, if you have one, email it to mdbonjr@hotmail.com . I would greatly appreciate it.Thanks again,Dean

I thought I would get feedback here before I sucked it up and took the car to the dealership :-) I have a 1999 Subaru Forester that has around 150K miles on it. It has the remote door locking feature but this past fall the battery wore out and I just never got around to replacing it so I just used the key to enter the car.

A few months ago I noticed that when I tried to use the key to enter the passenger door or the hatch, the key would go into the lock but I could not turn it. In true cheap cost saving fashion, I ignored it and just used the driver's door to get in. Well today the driver's door went kaput as well. I jimmy'd the key a little and now the key will turn in the lock but the door won't unlock. I have my roadside assitance coming to unlock the door for me as I type.

Any ideas on what this could be? I am hoping that this is not a "replace all the locks" issue ;-) Thanks for any and all insight!

Well, we've managed to locate the MPFI module, swapped it out and got rid of two of the codes we were getting. Now we're down to a code for the TPS and the IAC. We've tested both of these components thouroughly and they test fine. They have a common shared wire according to schematics that routes through the ignition relay. Does anyone know where this relay is located exactly on a 93 Legacy? I think I might have located it and just want to be sure before tackling the job of replacing it because it's a bugger to get to. Has anyone else encountered this problem?Thanks,Dean

Hi everyone, I'm writing this post to help my mother who is having problems with her 2001 Outback which she bought new back in 2000. She only has 30,000 miles on it and it's in perfect shape, and all the oil changes and any minor repairs have always been done at a Subaru dealership. Over the past few years, she's had an intermittent problem with her car stalling, usually at intersections when she's at a red light or stop sign. The "check engine" light and "A/T oil" light come on, then the engine will sputter, then race, then quit. She can start the engine again in a few minutes and drive away, but the warning lights stay on. She'll take it into Subaru, where they will replace some computer chip and they have to blow out a hose??? (I haven't seen the paperwork, I'm in Denver and she's in Mass.) This happens every 6 to 8 months, and it's costing her about $250 everytime she goes in there to get it fixed. I'm just worried about her driving the car, hoping she doesn't get into a wreck. The dealership told her the problem is because she isn't driving the car enough. Is this true? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks for any help, she loves the car and doesn't want to get rid of it, but she may have to

I'm no technical expert, but I'd be taking that vehicle to a different dealership's service department for a second opinion. I'm not buying the advice that she's not driving it enough. 4500 miles a year isn't much, but there are plenty of vehicles out there that get limited use like that. I've put less than that on my '95 Honda del Sol the last three years or so (summer driving only) and have had no problems of that nature.

I'm still having electrical problems with my 93 Legacy. When the battery is hooked up, the key will not return to lock or come out. When there is no power, the ignition works fine. I've swapped ignition switches- same thing happened. I've replaced the main fuse box and internal fuse box- no luck. Does anyone know where the relay is that ties to the ignition switch? Also, if anyone has any good ignition wiring diagrams please email them to me. Thanks in advance for your help.

We're only getting about 15 mpg city on our 2003 Legacy Special Edition Wagon. I regularly check the tire pressure to see that they properly inflated, and we don't have extra weight in it. Is there anything we can do to improve the fuel efficiency?

Well, when we sit idling we're getting 0 mpg, so enough of that will bring anyone's average down.

Drive as smoothly as you can, in fact try to coast to a stop without having to use the brakes. Any more speed and you're wasting energy and momentum.

Think of how hard it is to push your car to get it moving yourself, how much energy you expend just pushing it a few feet forward. The engine uses the same amount of energy to get you going. Leave more distance between the car in front of you do you can slow down and not have to stop at all.

Out of curiosity how often do you drive the car, and how far? I have a friend with a 03 OB who normally gets about 13 -14 mpg in the city. His problem is he only drives it on the weekends, and then only for a couple of miles before parking it.

Yes, it is an auto and yes it is all the way in Park. It will only start in Park and Neutral. Shouldn't that mean that the interlock is working? Also, you can't shift without the break on. Thanks for your input. I'll check it out.